Not Leaving
by pen.paper.green.day
Summary: She didn’t act like she had written him a dysfunctional yet heart-felt letter, and Marshall didn’t act like he had received one." Spoilers. I don't anything In Plain Sight related. UPDATED, STILL ON HIATUS
1. Prologue

**I honestly think this one might be my worst so far, but I am compelled to post it anyway. I was writing at around midnight last night/morning, so be kind in your judgements, lol.**

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Marshall found the note about a month after it had been written.

Unbeknownst to him, it had been hiding in his house, in a picture frame. The picture was of him and Mary, when neither of them knew they were being watched, much less photographed. Mary was at her desk, looking at something on her computer screen and smiling. Marshall was leaning over shoulder, looking on with an identical smile on his face. What they were looking at, Marshall couldn't remember, but it was undoubtedly his favorite picture. He kept it in his bedroom, on his nightstand.

The only reason he even found the note was because the frame broke.

After losing a witness as well as a friend in an explosion and then spending a very long drive home trying to help Brandi with her English paper, Marshall was a wreck. He had thrown a bit of a fit, tossing a pillow across the room and knocking the picture frame onto the floor, where it shattered loudly.

The sound had shocked him out of his distraught "temper tantrum", and he sadly went over to pick up the pieces. Then he found it, hiding behind the picture. His hands, though he'd never admit it, had shook slightly as he reached for the note.

Though it seemed unlikely normally, he just knew that Mary was the only one who would leave him a note like this, especially in that picture. He had sat on the bed to read it, avoiding the glass on the floor. It was definitely Mary's handwriting, and there were lots of words and lines scribbled out, as if she couldn't make up her mind as she wrote.

"_Hey, Marshall. You're probably wondering why I'm writing this, let alone in your house. Don't freak out, I'm not a stalker. It's just…the doctors won't let me see you, and I can't stand the idea of home right now. So, I came here. Thanks for not dying. And for a lot of other things, but mainly for not dying. I really appreciate it. And I appreciate you. I'm sorry I don't show it more, but I do. I really don't have any idea what I'd do without you around to annoy me senseless, and cover my ass when there's trouble. Oh wow, that sounds all sorts of sentimental. Sorry, it's just I'm not good at this sort of thing. Look… basically what I'm trying to say is that even though I may not show it, I really do care about you, and appreciate everything you do for me. You're definitely my hero. I don't know if you'll ever find this note… well, it's more of a letter now, but if you do, don't mention it to me. It's hard enough writing this without knowing you've read it. Just don't mention it, and please, don't act weird about it. I love you Marshall. Don't leave me, okay? - Mary"_

Marshall had had slight tears in his eyes after he finished reading, but he ignored them and re-read the note/letter about three times. Whether Mary meant she loved him in the way he hoped or in the way that you normally love your best friend he didn't know, but it didn't matter.

Now as he sat at his desk doing his (and some of Mary's) paperwork a few days later, he looked over at her and smiled. She smiled back, and then turned to look back at her screen.

She didn't act like she had written him a dysfunctional yet heart-felt letter, and Marshall didn't act like he had received one.

Marshall could almost feel the letter burning a hole in his breast pocket, right over his heart where he now kept it, and he thought over her words. _"I love you Marshall. Don't leave me, okay?"_

He smiled, because he knew he had no intention of ever doing so.

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	2. Chapter 1

_Lots of thanks to _**wisher93**_ and_ **Miss Mila **_for convincing me to do another chapter. There's going to be another one after this, because once I started to write more... it ended up being WAY longer than it was supposed to. It was supposed to be short and sweet, right to the point... but then I got wrapped up in it and just kept going and going, like the Energizer Bunny. (Now you might understand the nickname better, lol!) Anyway, enjoy, and thanks to everyone who reviewed and said they liked the first chapter even though at first I didn't._ **:]**

**(oh, and sorry if there's a little racism in there. don't get offended, I mean nothing by it, lol)**

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"My God… Marshall, oh Guru of Infallible Wisdom, is it even_ possible_ for it to snow here_?_ In Albuquerque?" Mary asked incredulously, looking out over the balcony edge.

Her and Marshall were standing outside on the balcony, wrapped in scarves and extra coats, staring amazedly at the swirling mass of snow falling from the sky.

"Well, it's not completely unheard of. It's just-"

"Fucking weird."

"-unusual."

"Exactly. Fucking weird."

Marshall sighed. "Whatever. Let's just… go back inside."

"Why? Why not just enjoy the beautifully unusual, fucking weird weather with your partner?" Mary asked smiling, flicking a snowflake off her shoulder at him.

She had been enjoying spending time alone with Marshall in the snow, just hanging out. It was different, and nice.

"Because I think my ass just froze and fell off." Marshall replied, laughing.

"Oh come on, you've barely got an ass anyway. Just stay out here with me a little longer." Mary almost begged.

"'Barely got an ass'? Excuse me? I happen to have a very nice ass. And why are you even looking?" Marshall somehow managed to look indignant and amused at the same time.

"Uh, I-"

"Mary, Marshall! Get in here!" Stan called, peeking out the barely open door.

The Inspectors did as they were told, huddled together against the chill of the wind.

"What are you two doing out there? You have work to do." Stan said as he stared them down, stern yet amused.

"Well, Mary here apparently thinks that I have no ass, so I naturally informed her otherwise. And-"

"Do not! I said you _barely _have an ass. There's a difference."

"Still. Just proves that you were looking." Marshall smirked.

Embarrassed, Mary felt the back of her neck grow hot. Thankful that she wasn't one to noticeably blush, she opened her mouth to retaliate, but Stan cut her off.

"Come on you guys. Act your age. Anyway, you have a witness to transport. That uh, what do you call it… 'Cholo' from Los Angeles."

"Great… Hope you're in the mood for burritos, Marshall." Mary said with a slight chuckle.

"Mare, racism isn't nice." Marshall scorned, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"No, I'm being serious! Last time I drove that guy somewhere he insisted we stop for burritos. He _insisted._"

Marshall raised a brow. "Why didn't you just tell him no?"

Mary grinned. "Cause. I was hungry as all hell, and burritos sounded pretty spiffy at the moment."

Stan rolled his eyes. "Just go, before I have to kick both your asses. And don't think I can't!"

Mary laughed, and went to her desk to get her gun and badge. She glanced up at Marshall as she did so, and caught him subconsciously patting his chest, as if checking a pocket. It was an odd habit that she had noticed him pick up recently.

For a second she wondered if…_no. _She wouldn't think about that. There was no need to make things awkward. She shook her head, trying to think of something else, and they left.

***

"Are you serious? They can't be closed just because of a little snow!" the witness named Rudy exclaimed when he saw that his favorite Mexican place was closed.

"Well, it never snows here, so it's kind of a big deal." Mary said from the passenger seat of the SUV.

Rudy sighed, and crossed his arms. Mary just laughed softly to herself and gazed out the window at the swirling mass of white outside.

"Maybe there'll be an open McDonald's." Marshall suggested thoughtfully.

"We don't have enough time to look for one. We're on a tight schedule already, and the snow isn't helping." Mary said reluctantly. She was hungry too, but they had to get going.

"She's right. There might be one on the way. We'll stop if we can." Marshall said, glancing back at the almost pouting witness. He chuckled, and turned on the radio. As if he had planned it, the song that came on was "Rudie Can't Fail" by the Clash.

About an hour later, it was obvious that they were going to have problems. The snow was falling heavier by the minute [Mary refused to even think of it as a blizzard because that would mean that they were _really_ screwed], and it was nearly impossible to see out any of the windows, forcing them to move at a slow crawl.

"At this rate we'll be getting there next week." Mary said anxiously, fidgeting. Not being able to see any threats coming their way through the snow was making her agitated.

"We might as well try to find someplace to wait this out." Marshall muttered, checking the GPS.

"Marshall, do you really think that if it's this hard to see you should be looking at that thing and not the road? Pull off for a minute." Mary glared at him for good measure.

He rolled his eyes and sighed, mumbling "Yes dear…" in a sarcastic drawl.

Mary smirked, and in the back seat Rudy laughed.

Mary liked this guy. At least he wasn't like Horst, making little sarcastic jibes at them for seeming couple-ish. And why did she have to think of that bastard right now? More agitated than ever, Mary crossed her arms and glared out at the freezing inferno.

Marshall pulled off to the side of the road, which was currently abandoned except for them, because apparently they were the only ones stupid enough to be driving in this mess. While he was messing with the GPS, Rudy suddenly opened his door.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mary asked, grabbing his arm before he could get out.

"Stretching my legs. I'm getting cramped in here." he replied simply. He seemed sincere, so Mary stopped glaring at him, and instead tried to explain.

"Rudy, you need to stay in the car. Someone could be tailing us, and come after you. Besides, it's freezing out there."

"Come on, Mary, please? I'd rather be cold and well-stretched than warm and cramped." Rudy pleaded.

She sighed, and looked over at Marshall.

"If you stick by him, I see no reason why not." he said absently, still fiddling with the pesky GPS, not even having to look to know that she was wordlessly asking his opinion.

"Okay then, go ahead." Mary said over her shoulder to Rudy, before getting out.

The two of them walked around a bit, making sure to stay close to the SUV, not wanting to lose sight of it through the sheet of snow. Mary glanced in Marshall's direction and could just make out him still messing with the apparently impossibly confusing GPS. She didn't need to hear him to know that he was muttering under his breath.

She smiled a small smile, and let herself be distracted by the oddity that was her partner.

It was that distraction that caused her not to notice the difference in the feel of the ground beneath her feet until her and Rudy had already walked a few feet further.

"Wait, stop." She held out a hand halting her witness and stood still. There was something amiss with the ground. It seemed solid, but not solid enough. It almost felt as if…

"Oh shit. Okay Rudy, I want you to walk carefully back the way we came. Try to keep your weight evenly distributed."

"Why, we're not on… Oh crap, we're on ice, huh?"

Mary grimaced and nodded. "Yep, and from the feel of it, thin ice. So just be careful. Go!"

They started to walk back in the direction they came from, Mary following behind Rudy, and _of course_, now that they were aware and being careful, the sound of crackling and groaning ice met their ears.

"Mary…"

"Just keep going and be careful."

They continued to take cautious steps, wincing at every sound made by the thin layer of ice holding them up.

Mary was just beginning to feel confident that they were nearing solid ground when Marshall suddenly yelled "Be careful out there guys! GPS says there's a pretty big pond out there somewhere!"

Marshall's outburst made Mary and Rudy both jump slightly, and Mary felt the ice begin to finally give way. She shoved Rudy forward and he lost his balance and fell, luckily, back on solid ground.

Mary wasn't so lucky.

With one last ominous crack the ice seemed to just disappear beneath her feet, and she was plunged into the icy water.

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**Dun, dun, dun...? Sorry for the cliff-hanger, but I had to break this up into another chapter because it's so long. Next and probably last chapter out soon! Hope you guys like it, I've had fun writing it.**


	3. Chapter 2

**I couldn't help it. I started listening to Metallica's "Trapped Under Ice" while I was writing this, lol. I made this chapter a lot shorter, and yes there is another one coming. I don't know why, but I felt the need to break it up into more chapters. Maybe to keep you in suspense? Who knows? I'm just following my muse's orders. You know how Nazi-Nuns are. They're relentless! x] Anyway, enjoy!!**

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The sensation reminded her vaguely of a scene from Titanic. If she weren't submerged in practically below freezing water, she might laugh at how ridiculous that was.

But the cold really _did_ stab at her like a thousand knives. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move, and could only think _Oh please, please, someone get me out of here._

The shock gave way to persistence and instinct to survive, and she forced her numb body to move, to find oh-so-needed oxygen.

Her head broke through the surface of her chilly underwater prison, and she gasped loudly.

"Mary! You okay? Jeez, hold on!"

Through the fog clouding her mind and vision, Mary recognized Rudy's voice, and wondered where Marshall was. Then someone was pulling her out with surprising strength.

_Oh, there he is._

Marshall laid her down on her back, hovering worriedly. "Mary, are you alright? Can you breathe okay, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. Fucking freezing, though." Mary managed to say between shivers and chattering teeth.

He nodded in understanding. "Okay. Come on, let's get you out of here."

Marshall and Rudy helped her up and walked her back to the SUV. Rudy got into the passenger seat, and Marshall helped Mary into the back.

Without warning he said to her "Okay, strip."

Mary blinked. "What?"

"Mare, you're soaked, and we're in a goddamn blizzard. You can get hypothermia and die. Now strip."

Mary begrudgingly did as she was told, shivering.

With a slight smirk she joked, "You just wanna see me naked."

"Mostly naked." he countered. "I'm letting you off the hook undergarment-wise."

Mary watched while, as he spoke, still out in the middle of a snowstorm, he started removing both his jackets. She smiled despite herself, feeling like a dumb girl to be moved by his chivalry.

When she was undressed, he helped her put on both jackets (avoiding looking at her too long), pulled a pair of sweatpants from Rudy's suitcase, and helped her put those on as well.

"Won't you be cold?" she asked, her tone concerned. With the jackets now on her, he was only in his dress shirt and pants.

"I'll survive. I've had worse. Besides, when I get back, I'll have the heater to warm me up." he said with a smile, closing the door to the backseat.

Mary rolled down the window. "Get back? What the hell are you talking about?! Are you leaving me?" Mary didn't mean for her tone to sound so desperate, but it couldn't be helped.

He poked his head through the window and said "There's a car coming. I'm gonna check it out, see if they're a threat, and then ask for directions because the GPS isn't telling me anything useful."

"But-"

"I'm only going to be gone a few minutes, but then I'm coming back. _I'm __**not**__ going to leave you._ I promise." His shining eyes bore holes into her own, and from his expression, his tone and his words, suddenly she knew. She just knew.

She nodded and said quietly, "Okay. I'll hold you to that."

He smiled, and studied her face silently. For just a second there Mary thought that he was going to kiss her or something, but he turned and left.

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**Next chapter out soon! Hope you liked, reviews are more than welcome!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the wait, and sorry it's short. I'd make it longer, but I have the feeling that I will be too busy to write a whole lot. So, I'm giving you what I can now. Enjoy, I hope! [Sorry for any mistakes, I'm in a rush to get this out for you guys]**

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Mary watched him go until she couldn't see him through the snow anymore, and sighed, rolling the window back up.

The weight of what was most likely in the breast pocket of Marshall's jacket seemed to constrict her chest, and she just had to check, to at least look. With hands shaking from more than just the cold, she found the inside breast pocket and reached inside.

Her fumbling fingers met with slightly crumpled paper.

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, and pulled the paper out, staring at it.

_Yep, this is it. Hot damn._

Mary unfolded the note that she had written Marshall almost three months ago, the night he was in the hospital, and re-read it. She didn't really have to, she had it practically memorized. But remembering what she wrote and seeing it on a paper that had been possibly and probably kept with him at all times for who knew how long now was a different matter entirely.

She remembered vaguely some of the things she had crossed out. Like: _"If you ever get shot again, I'll kill you myself, you bastard"_, or _"I hope you're happy. I cried in front of Stan."_,and other such threats and jibes.

She wondered if he noticed she had written it on paper from his stationary. Even more than that, she wondered how she managed to fall for someone who actually had their own personalized stationary. That was just so unlike her.

She wondered how long he had had the note. How long had he known about it and not said anything to her? Of course that's what she had wanted, but thinking about it was driving her crazy.

He had honored her request to not talk about the note, but now she knew that she was going to be the one to finally bring it up. She just had to know. How long he had it, and what his thoughts on it were.

With a sigh, she looked out the window trying to see him, and ran her fingers lightly over the last two lines. She remembered how a single tear had fallen onto the page as she wrote that, and checked if it was still visible, which it was, just barely. She wondered if he had ever noticed it.

She glanced back out the window, and sighed in relief when she could make out Marshall walking back to the SUV, hunched over against the cold. She sure hoped he got directions to someplace to stay for the night. With her wearing his clothes she might not be the only one at risk of hypothermia.

Well, she didn't actually know that for sure. She wasn't smart like him about that kind of stuff. Either way, she wanted him out of the cold as soon as possible.

Marshall got into the driver's seat and said "Okey-dokey, let's get the hell out of here.", turning the heater up even higher.

He had his shivering under control for the most part, but Mary could tell that he was miserably cold. Besides making her worry, it made her all the more appreciative of him giving her his jackets, no matter what heart attack-inducing contents their pockets held.

"What did they say in the other car?" she asked, reaching over to put a hand on his shoulder.

He glanced back at her, smiled and replied "They're from around here, so we're going to follow them into town. The guy already gave me the address of a motel, so no worries there."

She nodded, relieved, and moved to take her arm back, but he grabbed her hand and grinned at her.

"Told you I'd come back." he said smugly.

She smiled back, teeth still chattering and said softly "I never had any doubt."

In the passenger seat, Rudy stifled the automatic "Aww…" reflex. The supposed gangster was really just a matchmaker at heart, not that he'd ever admit it.

The car they were supposed to follow started going in front of them, so Marshall turned around to focus on the road and not his partner. It was then that Mary realized that she still had the note out. She stealthily and silently re-folded it, and put it back in it's proper place.

While she might be planning on mentioning the note to him, but she didn't want to at that moment, with someone else around. That, and she was too tired and cold.

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**I have no idea when I'll be updating next, but I'll try to make it as soon as possible, I swear. Thanks to all readers and reviewers! I love you all like 8 dollar whores! [LOL]**


	5. Chapter 4

**This chapter is dedicated to StoryCurrentlyUntitled, because it happens to be her motherhumping BIRTHDAY! Huzzah! :D So anyway, hope you enjoy best friend, and Happy Birthday!**

**[sorry if it's a little off. I've been doing a lot of Psych fan-fic reading, and not enough writing, so I'm sorta out of my zone. But I think it turned out okay.]**

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The ride into town was a long and slow one, and the warmth radiating from the heater only added to Mary's exhaustion. More than once Marshall reached back to rouse her, saying that until he was sure that she didn't have hypothermia, she couldn't sleep. She grumbled and whined, but did her best to do as he said.

She wasn't sure, but she thought she heard him mutter "That's my girl.", and smiled sleepily to herself.

After what felt like forever multiplied by infinity, she started to notice familiar sights like buildings and houses.

Awake enough to be a smartass, Mary drawled "Are we there yet?"

Marshall glanced back at her, rolled his eyes and replied "No. But not much longer, I promise." He had a small smile on his face as he turned away. She just loved how he would always pretend to be annoyed with her but could never keep up the ruse.

She had started to doze off again when suddenly a gust of cold air hit her face. She opened her eyes to see that Marshall was opening the door to let her out. She groaned, and moved to get out, sore limbs moving slowly. But before she could even get a foot out the door, Marshall had swooped in and picked her up bridal style, shutting the door with his shoulder.

Under normal circumstances, Mary would've hit him and demanded to be let down. But now she just held on to him and buried her face in his shirt. _Wow, he smells nice… _

She didn't pay much attention to where they were going or what words were said, she was more focused on staying awake. No matter how comfortable she was and how good he smelled, she didn't want to pass out in Marshall's arms. How un-Mary would that be?

Just when she was lucid enough to wonder about where they were, where Rudy was, and more importantly sleeping arrangements, Marshall was setting her down gently. She opened her eyes and looked around at the motel room. It was relatively small, but nice. And the bed felt _amazing. _Then again, at that moment to Mary the floor would feel like sleeping on clouds.

She started to cuddle into the mattress, definitely ready for a nap, but Marshall shook her gently, yet again denying her access to dream-land, and said "Hey Mare, stay awake. Look at me."

She wordlessly did as she was told, and spent the next few minutes responding at the right moments as Marshall tested her to see is she really did have hypothermia or not. How the hell he could tell for sure she didn't know. It was just another twist to the mystery that was Marshall.

Eventually he seemed satisfied that she was alright, and muttered "I'm gonna start up a shower for you. You'll be fine, but you still need to warm up."

He left, and Mary slowly got up, intent on reaching the bathroom herself. She didn't want him to come back in, thinking he had to carry her again. She had some of her pride left, and she could walk herself to the bathroom, damn it.

She bumped into him in the doorway, and he laughed. "I just knew you wouldn't let me carry you again. Get in there while it's hot, and try to save me some water, okay?"

She nodded and gave him a quick hug, grateful for all that he had and was still doing, even if her pride was a wee bit bruised. He still felt cold to the touch, she noticed, with more than a little concern.

Then she pushed him out of the bathroom and shut the door. The idea of a hot shower was practically orgasmic, and she refused to wait any longer.

***

She cut her shower shorter than she would have liked, making sure Marshall had plenty of hot water. She may have been the one who involuntarily took an ice bath in a snowstorm, but he had gone walking in the middle of that same storm in clothes that he had worn many times before in over 90 degree weather. How he made it out of there without becoming an icicle, she had no idea.

When she stepped out of the shower, she shivered at the cool air and sighed. _Am I ever gonna thaw out? Christ… _

She threw on a robe that was hanging conveniently on the door, and quickly towel-dried her hair. When she was satisfied that she was dry enough, she left the bathroom, robe-clad and carrying her (well, more like Marshall and Rudy's) clothes.

Marshall was digging through a duffel bag on the bed, muttering to himself. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

She got right behind him and said "Shower's all yours, buddy.", making him jump.

He turned to look at her, surprised. "That was fast."

She merely shrugged and replied "I saved you water."

"Thanks. Alright, I'm trying to find you some clothes from the emergency overnight bag, but since you never really made any contributions when I came up with the brilliant concept, they're all sorta my clothes." Marshall said, looking a little sheepish.

Mary reached into the bag and grabbed a simple t-shirt. "No problem. I'll stick with the sweatpants and this."

Marshall looked almost as if he would blush for a moment as he asked "What about, uhm…" trailing off, but Mary knew what he meant.

"Huh. I'm not really in the mood to go commando. I don't suppose you have some boxers in there?" she suggested.

He dug through the bag again, and after a moment let out a triumphant "Aha!" He handed her the boxers, which were decorated with, dare she believe it, trains, and looked pleased with himself.

"What happened to airplanes?" she asked, holding up the train-print boxers.

"Well, I just couldn't help myself. The whole 'planes and trains' deal just struck me as pure genius. You know how I love coincidental rhymes. I know, I know. I'm a freak. But I admit it, and accept it."

"Hate to break it to you partner, but in your serious case, admitting it won't help you on the road to recovery." She couldn't hide the smirk, though she tried to be serious, really she did.

He sighed in resignation. "I know... Oh well. Shower time!" He grabbed some clothes for himself and ran for the bathroom while Mary watched, laughing at his retreating back.

He was such a dork.

When the bathroom door was shut and the sound of water running hit her ears, she deemed it safe to change. She slipped Marshall's shirt over her head and noticed with a small smile that it smelled faintly of him.

She had never really paid much attention to the way a guy smelled until Marshall. Sure, she might notice that they were wearing a nice cologne, or too much, but with Marshall it was different. He didn't wear cologne. At least not often. And when he did it was subtle, not overpowering. The rest of the time he just smelled like… well, Marshall.

And why was she focusing on that when she should be getting dressed?

She shook her head and finished dressing. For a long moment she stared at Marshall's jacket, wondering how to go about talking to him about the damned note. What was she even supposed to say, anyway? _"Hey, I found that note that I told you to never speak of. Penny for your thoughts on it?" _

She sighed, and took the note back out it's pocket. She stared at it, thinking hard. She had never been the kind of person to need to resort to conversation starters on anything. And she shouldn't have to, not with Marshall. They were partners, best friends. They could talk about anything. But this was a more personal topic than had ever risen between them.

Apparently she stood there thinking longer than she thought, because the door to the bathroom suddenly opened.

Mary panicked, and, unsure of what else to do, slipped the note under a pillow on the bed.

Christ, what was wrong with her? How could she expect to talk to him about it (and what was there to even talk about?) if she was scared of just the idea of being found with the note?

She sighed. This was going to be a long night.

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**There ya go, I hope it didn't suck horrendously. Once again, I have no idea when the next chapter will be. This story is sort of a "keeps getting longer, though I want to end it soon" thing. Anyway, hope you liked!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Allow me to just say:** _I'm sorry._ I'm sorry. **I'M SORRY. **

**The story is still, unfortunately, on hiatus, but I found this much scribbled in my notebook, so I decided to at least give you what I had written. I feel awful that my muse has abandoned this fic, but as soon as I even get the tiniest idea, I promise I'll get to work on it. I hope you all don't hate me, cause I love you guys, lol. Thank you all so much for the reviews, and "story-alerting", it is greatly appreciated.**

**And a warning: This fic hasn't been gone over a hundred times with a fine-toothed comb and revised like with my other ones, and I don't use a beta, so there very well could be a lot of mistakes. =/ Enjoy, I hope. **

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Marshall wordlessly walked into the room clad in his typical pajamas, his hair still damp and falling in his eyes slightly. After he put his old clothes away, he started for the door leading out of the room.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Mary asked, taking a step away from the bed, and more importantly, the note that was causing her way more stress than it should be.

"Checking on Rudy. He's in the room next to us." Marshall replied, stopping in his tracks and turning to look at her. Before she could respond he frowned and said in a scolding tone "What do you think _you're_ doing? Get into bed, stay warm. I didn't pull you out of that pond for my health, you know."

Stubborn as ever, Mary marched over to him and poked him in the chest, rather hard.

"He's _my_ witness. I can damn well check on him myself. I'm not gonna let a little chilly water get in the way of doing my job." she said firmly, a glare set on her face.

"Well, it'd make me feel a lot better if you'd just get in bed like I told you."

"Well then, using that logic, _I'd _feel better if _you_ got into bed. You were walking around in a blizzard with no jacket. So there." She crossed her arms, as if daring him to argue.

"Mary…" he groaned, exasperated.

"Marshall…" she taunted, smirking at him.

A light, unidentifiable sound caught her attention, and suddenly she grinned, confusing her put out partner.

"What do you want to bet Rudy's listening to us right now?" she whispered.

Before Marshall could even open his mouth to answer, she let out a loud, fake moan.

Marshall positively goggled at her, while what could only be described as manly giggling (if there was such a thing) came from the room next to them. Mary tried her hardest not to laugh, and, only because Marshall looked oh-so-embarrassed, continued with a wanton "Oh, Marshall!"

Marshall glared at her as the giggling continued, and she just smiled smugly.

"Now can I go check on my witness?" she asked.

"Fine. I never want to show my face in front of him again anyway." Marshall mumbled, hanging his head and moving away from the door.

"That was kinda the objective." she said slyly, opening the door. He glared and lunged, and she closed the door in his face. She heard him curse lightly, and chuckled to herself.

When she reached Rudy's door she knocked loudly and called out "Hey, pervert! Open up!"

Boisterous laughter met her ears and she smiled. This guy was one hell of a character.

***

When Mary came back to the room, the first thing she noticed was that it was a lot messier than when she last saw it.

"Marshall?"

She found him standing by the chair she had hung his jacket over earlier, going through its pockets almost in a frenzy.

"Are you okay?" she asked cautiously. She had a vague idea of what was wrong with him, but she wasn't accustomed to this side of Marshall.

He didn't seem to register that she was there, muttering "Where the hell is it? Please tell me it didn't fall out in the snow or something…"

"What are you looking for?" she had a pretty good idea, but she had to ask.

Marshall stood up straight and looked at her with wide eyes, seeming surprised to see her there. "Oh. Um, it's nothing. Nothing important at least. I'm sure I'll find it later."

He was bad actor.

"Need help looking?" she offered, smiling slightly.

He looked positively petrified at the thought. "No. No, that's okay. I… I'll find it eventually." he said with a sigh, and began going about the room, cleaning up the slight mess he had made.

Mary watched him, and could tell that though he was trying very hard to hide it, he was upset. Really upset. Well, that certainly gave some insight on what he'd have to say about the evil little piece of paper that had started all of this drama and nonsense.

Well, technically _she_ started it, being the one who wrote the damn thing in the first place, but whatever.

The prospect of losing the note/letter/testament-to-their-insanity seemed to be driving Marshall, well, insane, so she decided to end the ridiculousness once and for all and have some mercy on him.

While he went around the room tidying up, pretending not to be in the middle of a mini-meltdown, she went to the bed and lifted her pillow with a flourish.

"Could this be what you're looking for?"

"Huh?" He looked in her direction, and audibly gasped.

The look on his face might have been comical if Mary wasn't suddenly feeling exactly how Marshall looked.

***

Marshall wasn't completely sure how he felt.

He was definitely relieved. If the letter had been lost for good, he probably would've cried. It meant far too much to him. Way more than it should, at the very least.

He was also very confused. About a few things. Like: How the hell did it get under the pillow? And how did Mary know to look there? Did she know it was there ahead of time? More importantly, did she actually recognize what it was, or was there some other reason why she was staring at him like that?

* * *

**I know, I know. I left it at a sorta cliffhanger, and I'm sorry. I just didn't want to hold out any of the story on you guys, since so many people seemed interested. Don't kill me por favor, and I hoped you enjoyed this tidbit of a chapter.**


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